Michigan

Updated February 13, 2018 at 9:52 PM;Posted February 13, 2018 at 3:47 PM

In this photo former Michigan Gov. John Engler speaks at a press conference at the Michigan State University Hannah Administration Building after he was named the interim president of MSU by the Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. (J. Scott Park | Mlive.com)(J. Scott Park)

Michigan State University officials are reviewing "allegations and insinuations" in a "sensationalized" package of recent ESPN reports about MSU's football and basketball programs, according to MSU Interim President John Engler.

"I hope that MSU can soon respond in full and affirm the integrity and probity that has been the hallmark of these two respected coaches," Engler said in an open letter released today.

Engler, in his second week of heading Michigan State, said the letter is meant to address "several matters many of you have raised with me" in regards to the Larry Nassar controversy.

Engler's letter does not name MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo or football coach Mark Dantonio.

But the letter says the former governor "viewed with great concern a recent ESPN report that gathered considerable national attention in no small part because it showed a promotional graphic of our head football and men's basketball coaches with Larry Nassar."

Izzo and Dantonio are not implicated in the Nassar scandal, which involved female athletes.

"This was a sensationalized package of reporting that contained allegations and insinuations that we are now reviewing," Engler said in his letter. "The coaches were asked to refrain from comment while the reports were examined. That has been a burden that must be lifted."

ESPN has detailed a number of alleged attacks on women involving MSU football and basketball players. It linked the way those Title IX and police investigations were handled to the controversy around Nassar, a former MSU sports-medicine doctor who sexually molested patients under the guise of medical treatment.

Engler's letter also said the university is cooperating with numerous investigation into the Nassar, who molested patients for more than 25 years despite numerous complaints about his behavior.

"Questions about how this could have happened and what must be done to prevent it from ever happening again are the subject of multiple inquiries," Engler wrote. "At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Education is conducting a Clery program review, the U.S. Senate has requested information, and the U.S. House of Representatives has two inquiries underway. The NCAA also is seeking information from us. In Michigan, the House of Representatives is requesting production of documents and the Attorney General's Office, at MSU's request, is conducting an investigation.

"Add to these an accreditation agency inquiry and an ongoing blizzard of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and the volume of compliance deadlines Michigan State University faces is daunting," the letter said, "Last week alone, we turned over data equivalent to some 45,000 pages of documents, emails, and other materials to William Forsyth, the independent special counsel who is heading the investigation for the Attorney General's Office."

Engler also said that MSU is pushing for mediation on the lawsuits filed by almost 150 plaintiffs over the Nassar situation.

"I fervently hope, a just resolution that helps the survivors bring some closure to this horrific chapter in their lives," he wrote.

Moving forward, he wrote, the university needs to re-commit to addressing sexual assault and misconduct.

"We know from Title IX reports that a large proportion of our sexual assaults happen on campus, that all too often those involved are familiar with each other, and that alcohol consumption is often involved," Engler wrote. "We can do better with our campus relationship climate, and I'll continue reaching out to people and groups in the days ahead for advice and suggestions that can move us toward the kind of campus we all want to be associated with."

Engler released his letter shortly before the MSU Faculty Senate was scheduled to hold a "no-confidence" vote in the MSU Board of Trustees, partially because of Engler's appointment as interim president.

Faculty members have said Engler, a three-term former Republican governor, was an inappropriate choice because of his political ties and his lack of experience in higher education.